My grade school had a “cafetorium” with a kitchen, stage, and even an overhead projection booth (that doubled as a tutor’s room.)
When I first discovered SBUX, it was an experience. A great variety of coffees and caffeinated drinks and some very comfy chairs to just sit, relax, and read a paper in. I’d say by the mid-2000s, it had overgrown and lost its uniqueness.
When I think of ‘cafes’, I think local. In Oregon, it was Dutch Bros. In the Bay Area, it was Philz or Coffee Society (South Bay). In Northern VA it’s Compass but I don’t go out much now.
Nero is the Italian word for the colour “black”, so I would guess Cafe Nero is a “joke” about black coffee…
Stranger
When I hear “coffee shop,” I think of the little hole-in-the-wall “diner-ettes” on the ground floors of the hotels I stayed at with my dad while on summer vacation. There would be maybe two or three booths and a counter with four or five stools where you could get a cup of Joe at odd hours and maybe a light breakfast early in the morning.
The early White Castles were a lot like this too, and they usually had one wall behind the counter that was polished steel.
You got me thinking, what is the difference between a cafeteria and a refectory?
Here is a nice European cafe:
Well, from a US perspective, the main difference is that nothing is ever called a refectory unless they’re trying to be old-fashioned and cute sounding. A refectory is what you’d find at a real-life monastery, or Oxford, or Hogwarts. A cafeteria, or maybe a “dining commons”, is what you’d find at a US university.
If it’s called a “refectory,” it’s a sure bet you won’t be able to afford it!
China-based Luckin Coffee plans to open stores in the U.S., selling coffee at half the price charged by Starbucks. It’s a bold move, since they were caught in a financial scandal a few years ago.
I lived in China during Luckin’s launch, and it was great. It was really popular, and I was very surprised to hear about them fraudulently inflating their sales figures.
Even before covid though, Luckin was more of a takeaway / delivery model, and if they do this in foreign markets then they are taking on Starbucks head on, rather than do like the UK’s Costa and take some of the market that Starbucks may have neglected.
I do say if they do this in foreign markets though, because I’ve lived in a few countries and it’s often interesting to see how differently brands can pitch themselves in different markets.
Notably, Starbucks in Shanghai is largely not for takeaway; it’s not only more of a sit-in place, but some of the branches are quite fancy Starbucks Reserve.
So maybe luckin will, like Starbucks, try something a little different in the different market.
I’ve been to a Starbucks Reserve, twice in fact, the location in the upscale shopping area, the Domain, in Austin Texas. Which doesn’t seem to exist per the Starbuck Reserve website, or rather, not as a Reserve location anymore. And the Domain is quite nice overall, something of a perfect location one would assume.
Which indicates to me that the whole Reserve subgroup has largely been abandoned, with only 3 locations left in the US. For that matter, during the time it had Reserve status, it wasn’t very much a laid-back cafe where people would sip drinks and relax or soak in the ambiance, but was a trendy “be seen drinking the latest offerings” and instagram it. Though that’s actually a lot of the Domain to be honest.
Regardless of what they serve, when I hear the word “cafe” the first thing that comes to mind are small tables that are big enough for at most 2 people.
As a student, the Med on Telegraph Avenue was already the place for coffee, deep philosophical discussions, fomenting revolution (right around the corner from what became People’s Park), and the occasional drug deal.
Looking it up, it looks like it might have been one of the first coffee houses in the East Bay (established in the mid-50’s).
My impression is that smaller independent coffee shops, including ones that do their own roasting, are gaining market share. Even though a fair fraction can’t end up making the business work profitably.
Last time I looked, they were simply “bubblers” in Wisconsin. I had never heard the term until I was 18 and met a guy from Fond du Lac. In Minnesota, they’re just called “drinking fountains.”
Indeed. “Bubbler” seems to be idiosyncratic to eastern Wisconsin, as well as the Boston area (though it sounds like it might be “water bubbler” there).
Australia is coffee lovers heaven with coffee replacing beer as the natonal drink. You can get a quality coffee everywhere, service stations, fast food joints all have good Italian machines.
The upper end is also a treat.
https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Restaurant_Review-g255070-d2321920-Reviews-Origin_Espresso_Port_Douglas-Port_Douglas_Queensland.html
The food is pricey but good, the hours suck but the coffee worth the effort.
Even Hungry Jacks ( Burger King ) has excellent coffee which I get for free with any meal as senior.
Can end up with a bacon and egg roll, potato crisp and a latte for $5.
Can’t eat out anywhere close to that.
Maccas ( McDonalds in local dialect ) has their own cafe’s and they are decent but don’t have the deals Hungry Jacks does.
It is good coffee.
My impression seems to be incorrect.
The report notes that Starbucks maintains a whopping 40% share of the market in terms of number of outlets, with more than 16,000 in the U.S.
And, with Dunkin’ at nearly 10,000 U.S. locations, that gives the two chains, combined, roughly a 65% share of the locations/stores in the category.
Which gets back to the OP’s question: the main coffee chains in the U.S. are Starbucks and Dunkin’, by a mile; beyond those two, every other chain and independent shop, combined, amount to fewer stores than Starbucks.